Colorado Forwards Called Into International Duty On August 12

June 27, 2010

COMMERCE CITY Colo. (Friday August 7 2009) – U.S. Men’s National Team head coach Bob Bradley has named Colorado Rapids forward Conor Casey to his 20-man roster that will train in advance of the FIFA World Cup qualifier against Mexico next Wednesday Aug. 12 in Mexico City.

Casey has 14 career caps with the National Team and recently appeared in four games for the U.S. in their successful 2nd place FIFA Confederations Cup run in June.

The U.S. seeks their first-ever victory on Mexican soil on Wednesday with kickoff set for 2 p.m. MT at Estadio Azteca famed for its grueling combination of altitude smog and more than 100000 spectators.

The match will be broadcast live on Telemundo mun2 and the Futbol de Primera Radio Networks. Fans can follow live online via ussoccer.com’s newly upgraded MatchTracker and twitter.com/ussoccer.

The Rapids will also be hosting Colorado's official viewing party for this match at Fado Irish Pub in Lodo. For full details click here.

Additionally ESPN will provide unprecedented studio coverage highlighted by a 30-minute SportsCenter 2010 FIFA World Cup Qualifying Special from outside Estadio Azteca beginning at 1:30 p.m. MT. The special marks the first time in its 30-year history that ESPN will air a live pre-match show for a soccer event it is not televising.

The U.S. team will begin gathering Aug. 9 in Miami and will depart for Mexico on Tuesday. With a lifetime record of 0-22-1 in Mexico and currently in second place of final round qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup the U.S. look to pick up points on the road to start the second half of the hexagonal after posting a 3-1-1 record through five games.

Mexico sit in fourth place in the group with a 2-3-0 record. The top three teams automatically advance to the 2010 FIFA World Cup while the fourth place team will participate in a two-leg playoff against the fifth place team from South America.

The U.S. have never won in Mexico and have only earned one draw. Down a man for nearly an hour the U.S. earned a 0-0 draw on Nov. 2 1997 in World Cup qualifying at Estadio Azteca.

It has been a much different story on U.S. soil with Mexico finally putting the brakes on the USA’s decade of dominance at home with their victory in the Gold Cup final. Prior to that match the U.S. had posted an unbeaten 9-0-2 home record against El Tri dating back to 1999.

Costa Rica currently lead the group on 12 points followed by the United States with 10 points.

In other CONCACAF qualifying action Aug. 12 third place Honduras host Costa Rica while winless Trinidad &amp; Tobago welcome El Salvador. Following this single fixture date the U.S. will host El Salvador at Rio Tinto Stadium on Sept. 5 in Salt Lake City Utah before traveling to face Trinidad &amp; Tobago on Sept. 9 in Port-of-Spain.

In additional news Rapids forward Omar Cummings has been called up by the Jamaican National Team for their international friendly against Ecuador also this Wednesday August 12 at Giants Stadium at 6:30 pm MT.

The Bodles Crescent Jamaica native has eight career caps with the Reggae Boyz after making his international debut in July of 2008.

He has scored two goals in international competition including Jamaica’s only goal in a 1-0 win over El Salvador on July 10 2009 in the CONCACAF Gold Cup.